Private-Sector Job Growth Steady in March, per ADP

By Matt Grossman

Private-sector job creation was steady in March, payroll processor ADP reported on Wednesday.

ADP's latest monthly data showed the economy added 62,000 private-sector jobs last month, down slightly from the 66,000 measured by ADP in February. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a decline to 39,000.

The data lands two days before the government's official March jobs report, which is due Friday. The numbers come from very different sources: ADP's data draws on the company's internal figures on how many roles its huge pool of business customers are adding or subtracting. The government's data comes from purpose-built surveys, and covers the public sector as well as private businesses.

Job creation was solid across several sectors last month, according to ADP's reading. Construction added 30,000 jobs and mining 11,000, although manufacturing employment shrank. In the services economy, the leisure-and-hospitality sector added 7,000 jobs and the information industry added 16,000. But hiring was concentrated in education and health services, a field responsible for a disproportionate share of recent U.S. job creation and which added 58,000 net jobs in March.

"Overall hiring is steady, but job growth continues to favor certain industries, including health care," Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist, said.

Even before ADP's figures arrived, economists were expecting a similar tally from the official jobs numbers on Friday. Forecasts estimate 59,000 new jobs, a big improvement from February's job losses, and a steady unemployment rate of 4.4%.

Write to Matt Grossman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-01-26 0853ET